Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly is Outplacement?

It’s the process by which we support your people psychologically, and with job search guidance, to aid them to find work they want after retrenchment/redundancy. Life’s too short for the wrong job and feeling like you’ve “been made redundant” can be crushing. Having a safe pair of hands to guide and support you – an experienced career transition coach with a deep understanding of psychology – can be a huge comfort. We provide expert guidance, psychological support and enable retrenched employees to build their network, identify their career path going forward and move forward with confidence to find work they want.

Outplacement can also be known by the term “career transition services”. It includes psychological support that helps your retrenched employees to regain their self-confidence and optimism, and it includes job search guidance, tools, examples and resources for retrenched Executives and employees (those whose position was made redundant).

It can be individual or group based and it should include: psychological guidance to manage the shock, fear and upset of redundancy; help to identify and take the next step; help to know what tools and techniques will assist including strengths, skills and values matching tools; help to find the hidden jobs, guidance on identifying relevant training or a new career direction; resume and application help; personal branding guidance; networking guidance and interview skills coaching and feedback. It usually also includes briefing and on the day on-site support for managers giving the news of redundancy and can also be offered to employees facing a choice between accepting redundancy or re-deployment.

What is the difference between redundant and retrenched?

Bridget Hogg of Outplacement Adelaide says it’s preferable to use the term “retrenched” when referring to the individuals who are directly impacted by an organisation making roles redundant. The role is redundant but not the person. The person is retrenched. Saying a person is redundant can sound rude and demeaning so that term is best avoided when referring to people.

A retrenched employee was in the position that was made redundant. They can now be re-deployed to another role, or they may leave the organisation.

I’m a GM or People and Culture Manager seeking to support retrenched employees. How does outplacement work?

Outplacement has several stages:

1. Clarifying Your Needs and Making Plans

You select an Outplacement Consulting firm (such as Bridget Hogg, Outplacement Adelaide – the outplacement brand of Development at Work Australia) and we discuss and agree the services to be provided (group workshops, phone support during the employees’ consultation period, individual outplacement programs and of what length, outplacement workbooks) and the fees. At this stage we may also offer you preparatory workshops for leaders, team leaders and employees about managing the people aspects of change and managing oneself in times of change. After our discussions you will know how many individual weekly meetings your people will receive with the Outplacement Consultant, whether the meetings will be online or face to face and what other contact is available to them (such as calls and emails in between meetings). Outplacement Adelaide offers individual weekly face to face meetings supplemented by support phone calls and emails providing support and guidance and feedback about the resume and applications. Meetings can be online if the retrenched individual requests this (or if the individual is further afield than the Aldinga – Elizabeth / Mount Barker / Port Adelaide region).

Once you have selected Bridget Hogg at Outplacement Adelaide to work with you, Bridget will send you a client agreement (with all your options written down) for you to check, sign and return. Bridget Hogg will provide tailored information and guidance to you at an early stage (about topics such as: how best to manage the onsite on the day support, your obligations with regard to re-deployment and consultation, and Bridget will discuss with you your plans for the individuals directly impacted once they have been told the news).

• Onsite on the day support.

Bridget will provide support and information to the impacted individuals on-site on the day, guide the next steps of the individuals and debrief with managers.

• Outplacement Support for weeks or months

Bridget (and other Outplacement Consultants if your need is large) will provide support to individuals considering re-deployment opportunities and make a series of individual appointments to see anyone who has accepted a redundancy package (or schedule a group workshop if you selected that option).

• Reporting

The Outplacement Consulting firm will provide brief reports to you, the employer, on the number of sessions utilised to date. A good outplacement consulting firm will never divulge personal information that would breach confidentiality. Good news (such as job news) can sometimes be fed back to the employer, if we have the retrenched individual’s permission.

How much does it cost?

Expect to pay between $2,750 and $10,000 per individual that is supported by an outplacement package – depending on the length of the program you select. Some employers like to have longer programs for retrenched Executives, for people with a long tenure and for anyone who may face additional set-backs in finding new work (due to age, skills, or ability).

Anyone charging a very low price may be using individuals with limited experience to deliver the service (such as recent graduates, self-declared “resume experts” or individuals with no experience in mindset management, identifying individuals at risk or psychology. The provision of mindset management/psychological support is key to effective outplacement. It’s not uncommon for individuals who have been retrenched to be very angry or very upset, even suicidal at some point. You need experienced outplacement consultants who can identify emotional states and help the individual to manage them – not just someone who can help a person write a resume.

Why do you recommend individual outplacement programs not a group workshop?

An outplacement workshop is essentially a low budget, cost effective option, that will provide basic guidance to retrenched individuals. However, even a whole day group workshop will not give people the same amount of time and individual attention as an individual program would – nor do people have the chance to absorb the information, put it into practice and then be able to ask questions and seek feedback in the same way as they do on an individual program. A group program may not cover some of the content that an individual would have liked to cover – and would cover on an individual program – such as: what to do if one is thinking about a career change; where to search for training courses to equip them for another role and personal branding on Linked In.

Group workshops can have other pitfalls too. It’s possible a workshop could “hijacked” by emotional individuals who may wish to focus on why the redundancies are unfair or unwarranted. If you are thinking about a group workshop to keep costs down ask about combining it with individual sessions so people can ask the questions they wish to ask, absorb and implement the guidance and then seek individual guidance and feedback. Discuss the emotional state of the individuals involved with the outplacement consulting firm to see if a group workshop is likely to be effective. A one day group workshop will cost about the same as a one person individual program for one month ($2750).

What areas do you service?

Outplacement Adelaide typically helps individuals around the Adelaide area in South Australia (from Aldinga to Elizabeth, Port Adelaide and Mt Barker). We can provide remote support to individuals interstate and further afield – delivered via Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Ask us about providing help for your people and we will let you know what we can do. Call 0477 016966 or email bridget@developmentatwork.com.au

Is there a way to create organisational change with no upset and resistance?

Yes you can create change with the least resistance and upset if you anticipate and understand peoples’ reactions and emotions when they are experiencing change and transition – especially when there is imposed and sudden change. Work with an experienced change and transition consultant, such as Bridget Hogg in Adelaide, to understand what people need in times of change and uncertainty and plan change taking into account what people need.

Its best to educate your leaders on the stages of transition and typical emotions and reactions at each stage – helping them understand that these are natural signals to show the leader what to provide at this stage to help people move through it with the least upset and resistance.

Employees may experience shock, anger and fear – sometimes guilt if they were not one of the people in a position that was made redundant. Help managers understand when they need to give information , when they need to listen, when they need to provide support and what they can do to assist and support their team – and manage the impact of change on themselves too.

Why is it not recommended to let line managers know in advance about planned redundancies?

Don’t let line managers in on what you plan if they haven’t been trained in change management.

If you plan to tell them in advance (perhaps because they will be the one delivering the news) – give them a proper training session letting them know how people react in times of change and what they need to provide to guide their people at each stage. They also need briefing about the way the organisation will deliver the news, who will deliver it, why that person or those people will deliver the news – and the reason for the chosen timing. Clarify what not to do and why – especially make sure they are clear about why a “friendly heads up” to one of their mates is the most unkind thing to do and why it can create a very difficult situation for all. You don’t need to do the training and briefing on your own if you haven’t managed redundancies before – ask your local outplacement consultant, such as Bridget Hogg at Outplacement Adelaide, to run some training and help you plan the briefing.

What change management training might line managers need before we make redundancies?

Ideally your managers will receive training on what to expect from employees when change is announced, how employees may react – and what employees need from them at each stage of the transition curve so they can move through that stage and on to the next with the least resistance and stress. Bridget Hogg offers training for top teams to plan the change; training for people leaders to know how people will react and how to support them through a change effectively; and training for everyone in understanding and managing one’s own reactions to change. These three types of training are very important to help an organisation to prepare for and manage the people aspects of change effectively.

What happens if managers are not trained in managing the people aspects of change?

1. One client of mine let the line manager know that a member of their staff was going to receive the news of redundancy of their position the next week. For some reason the line manager gave the employee a heads up about this just before the weekend! As you can imagine there was a lot of shock and a lot of stress – with no appropriate support in place to assist the individual. 
2. In another organisation, the senior leaders understood the change, what was to happen and why – but told the line managers and employees very little of the rationale. In their own words “we treated them like the PC’s – picked them up on a Friday night and put them someone else to start work on a Monday morning”. The psychological contract and trust was broken. Employees of 20 – 30 years tenure were soon going home in tears and tantrums and quality of service dropped dramatically in once top performing teams.

Why do things go wrong when change isn’t managed well? In the example above there were multiple causes: lack of involvement and communication about the change and its rationale leading to lack of employee understanding; lack of consultation, senior management understanding and flexibility; a clash of values and new technology being seen as not fit for purpose.

What happened? Low morale, frustration, stress, infighting, acute stress symptoms, increased sick leave, lack of trust in management and service standards and customer satisfaction dropped. 

What can you do to create change with no upset?

1. Try to plan far enough ahead so you can provide training for senior leaders and line managers to help them plan and manage the people aspects of change well. 
2. Ideally provide some training on understanding reactions to change and transition to employees too. 
3. Involve an out placement consulting firm such as Outplacement Adelaide early enough so they can help you with advice in advance and on-site support on the day – as well as providing individual or group career transition guidance for those directly impacted.
4. Consult and involve employees and line managers where possible in making the plans – and, if that’s not possible, consult those directly impacted after the announcement of change is made – giving them time to think. 
5. Make sure you offer outplacement services to support people who can not be re-deployed. Best practice these days is to also offer support to potential re-deployees via an outplacement service so they can consider the option of redundancy or re-deployment with external assistance (and a realistic assessment of their likelihood of finding an alternative role outside of the organisation).
6. Provide clarity on whether you anticipate more change and whether there may be more redundancies. If no more change is planned – employees will feel reassured if you tell them that.
7. Provide support to everyone – you want your employees to stay but after redundancy it can be that you lose some good people you didn’t want to lose. This can happen if they feel guilty about not being selected or if they feel the organisation doesn’t operate within their values. How well you treated the employees who were retrenched or re-deployed impacts everyone. 

Bridget Hogg says “In one organisation that I worked for offering redundancy services I heard from retrenched employees that were very happy with the redundancy package they were offered and the re-deployment opportunities. They felt that what was on offer was generous, gave them a choice and they felt fully supported by the outplacement process. As a result, when some of them were interviewed they said lovely things about the organisation – resulting in the employer winning a “Best Employer” award whilst it made redundancies.” 

Who should I call for outplacement/career transition and change management support?

For information about outplacement services, change management, psychological and wellbeing support for leaders, retrenched employees and those who stay in the organisation after redundancies – call Bridget Hogg who runs the brand Outplacement Adelaide for Development at Work Australia, for information and prices on 0477 016966 or email bridget@developmentatwork.com.au

See www.outplacementadelaide.com.au for testimonials and further information about outplacement services. See www.developmentatwork.com.au/change for additional information about managing change in the workplace.

What legal pitfalls do I need to watch for when making redundancies in Adelaide?

Australian Employers can fall foul of the law if asking a re-deployee to compete for a role against external candidates, or against those who are not also re-deployees. Did you know that? The Courts don’t take kindly to re-deployees having to “compete” for a role that could have been directly offered.

Make sure your ducks are all in a row before you start making legal mistakes. Read the Outplacement Adelaide blogs and contact a lawyer to check your planned process is within the law.

Best practice when offering re-deployment prior to redundancy means offering a position that is available or could be soon available to them (even if this is at a lower salary, is deemed to be a lower position or is at a subsidiary of your company or within your parent company).

In Australia, requiring a redeployee (an employee whose position has been made redundant) to compete for a vacancy against other candidates is generally considered unlawful or at least unreasonable, putting the employer at high risk of an unfair dismissal claim. 

Under the Fair Work Act 2009, for a redundancy to be considered a “genuine redundancy” (and therefore exempt from unfair dismissal), the employer must take reasonable steps to redeploy the employee. 

Check out the law with an employment lawyer or the Fair Work Commission before you take action on redundancy and re-deployment.

These are the legal principles to be aware of:

1. The Legal Definition of Redeployment

• Direct Placement: Redeployment means being “placed in another job”. It is not a competitive process.
• No Competitive Interviewing: Case law (e.g., Ulan Coal Mines Ltd v A. Honeysett & Ors) has established that forcing a redundant employee to apply for a job and compete with other applicants (internal or external) does not constitute genuine redeployment.

In Ulan Coal Mines Ltd v Honeysett, the Full Bench of Fair Work Australia determined that requiring a redundant employee to compete for an available position is not genuine redeployment; instead, preference should be given to the employee for suitable roles. The ruling also established that redeployment obligations extend to associated entities, with the reasonableness depending on factors like managerial integration and geographic feasibility, judged objectively at the time of dismissal. 

• Guaranteed Role: A truly suitable role should be offered directly, rather than asking the employee to compete for it. 

2. When Competition Makes Redundancy “Unfair”

• Unfair Dismissal Risk: If a suitable vacancy exists and the employer forces the redeployee to compete, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) may find that the redeployment was not “reasonable in all the circumstances”.
• Result: The redundancy will not be a “genuine redundancy,” and the employee can claim unfair dismissal. 

3. “Suitable” Alternative Employment

• Definition: “Suitable” means a role that the employee has the skills and competence to perform, usually with minimal or no further training.
• Lower Level Roles: If a similar-level role is not available, the employer should consider offering a lower-level role (a “demotion” in status or pay). Failing to offer a lower-level role when it is available can also make the redundancy not genuine. 

4. Exceptions and Nuances

There may be applicable exceptions for small business and if many people are being re-deployed at one time so do contact an employment lawyer or the Fair Work Commission to get legal advice for your circumstances.

• Restructuring: If many positions are made redundant and fewer similar positions are created, it may be reasonable to have a selection process (interview/assessment) specifically among the affected employees for the new positions. However, this is distinct from forcing them to compete against external, non-redundant candidates.
• Interstate/Associated Entities: Employers must consider redeployment across their business and associated entities. 

5. Best Practices for Employers

• Do not compete: Do not make a redundant employee compete for a vacant position.
• Document everything: Document all attempts to find redeployment, including why a role was deemed unsuitable.
• Consult: Comply with consultation obligations in modern awards or enterprise agreements. 

Hansard records from the introduction of the Fair Work Act 2009—specifically the Second Reading Speech and Explanatory Memorandum—emphasize that “genuine redundancy” requires an employer to act with fairness and compassion, rather than making employees “make their own way” against “odds deliberately stacked against [them]”. 

While Hansard itself does not contain a specific line-by-line ban on “competing,” the legislative intent and subsequent case law interpret the statutory duty to redeploy as a proactive obligation on the employer.

Legal Interpretation of “Compete”

Courts and the FWC (interpreting the intent recorded in Hansard) have concluded that forcing a redundant employee to compete for a vacancy often invalidates a “genuine redundancy”:

• Ulan Coal Mines Ltd v Honeysett: This landmark case established that “redeployment” means actually placing an employee in a role. Asking them to “apply and compete” against others is not considered a “reasonable step to redeploy”.
• Preference Over Others: To meet the “genuine redundancy” criteria, an employer should generally offer a suitable role to the redundant employee without a competitive process, provided the employee has the necessary skills or can be retrained in a reasonable timeframe. 

Recent High Court Clarification (2025)

In the 2025 case Helensburgh Coal Pty Ltd v Bartley, the High Court further expanded this by ruling that employers must even consider restructuring or “freeing up” work—such as replacing contractors with redundant employees—rather than just checking a list of vacant roles. This reinforces the idea that the employer must actively seek to preserve employment rather than making the employee win their job back in an open market. 

Under the principles established by Parliament and clarified by the High Court, asking a redeployee to compete for a role they are qualified to perform is a high-risk strategy that likely fails the “genuine redundancy” test, leaving you, the employer, open to unfair dismissal claims. 

Always check with an employment lawyer and the Fair Work Commission if you have any questions – and err on the side of caution, exemplify best practice at all times.

For information about outplacement services, change management, psychological and wellbeing support for leaders, retrenched employees and those who stay – call Bridget Hogg for information and prices on 0477 016966 or email bridget@developmentatwork.com.au.  See www.outplacementadelaide.com.au for further information about outplacement services. 

Can I use a resume consultant, a business coach or a recruiter instead of an outplacement consultant? What’s the difference?

Always use an experienced Outplacement Consultant who is experienced in outplacement and redundancy scenarios and providing on-site on the day support to all involved. Outplacement is not about job search and resumes as much as it’s about managing one’s mindset, finding hope, building confidence and helping retrenched employees project a confident aura once again in the marketplace.

Outplacement needs an expert who understands the importance of managing mindsets. Bridget Hogg, Outplacement Consultant says “As an outplacement consultant I work with organisations that are planning to make positions redundant. I work with leaders making the decisions – and employees who have been offered re-deployment or retrenchment. Sometimes I work with businesses who go into receivership. This is what I know about mindsets and emotional states at times of redundancy and business failure:

1. Everyone is impacted – those who stay, those who have to leave, those giving the news and making the decisions. Emotional states are fluctuating and stress is often high. Leaders feel anxious and often guilty; those not being asked to leave feel sad and often feel guilty that they “survived the cut”; those who are asked to consider re-deployment or redundancy are often shocked, angry – and fearful.
2. Great leaders manage their own mindset and emotions and lead the mindset and emotional experience of others. Helping people to keep on an even keel and to see what upside there could be is a great skill.
3. Leaders sometimes “fail”. Businesses go into administration. It can feel like chaos and there can be a lot of guilt. At times like this – everyone, especially leaders, need our support. 

Do I have to think about psychosocial safety when managing outplacement and redundancy?

Psychosocial safety is a critical workplace health and safety obligation during redundancy processes, with regulators now having the power to intervene if a process is managed in a way that creates a risk of psychological harm. Employers must proactively manage the risks of psychological injury for all employees—both those being made redundant and those who remain. 

What makes redundancy a psychosocial risk?

Redundancy can create several psychosocial hazards and cause psychological harm. These risks can affect the mental well-being of all employees involved. 

For employees, the hazards include:

• Job insecurity and uncertainty and anxiety about “who is next?”
• Guilt that they were “one of the lucky ones” who missed the cut.
• Poor or rushed communication and shock about the news
• A lack of support (obviously this will be mediated by the outplacement consultant that you choose to work with your people – but don’t neglect managers and those staying who may feel shock, guilt and feel angry that the organisation “abandoned” their colleagues)

• Stress of choosing re-deployment or not (often in a short time frame)
• Increased workload: Are some of the responsibilities from the redundant positions going to be taken on by remaining staff, leading to job overload and burnout?
• Poor communication and support: Leaders can feel stressed about talking about what’s happened and the realities of what may be to come and, as a result, employees may feel stressed, worried they have to “compete” with their colleagues to stay – resulting in fractured workplace relationships and low morale. 

What can employers do to manage psychosocial safety during redundancy?

To protect workers and manage legal and reputational risks, employers should integrate psychosocial safety measures into all operations. To integrate psychosocial safety into your redundancy process it helps if you start well before redundancies are thought about with your ongoing daily practices.

Here are some ideas from Bridget Hogg, Outplacement Consultant at Development at Work Australia.

Before the redundancy process

• Build a culture of safety: Prioritise psychological safety by creating an environment of open communication and trust.
• Train leaders: Equip leaders with the skills to: understand and manage their own emotional state and mindset; understand how people react during times of change and transition; and have difficult conversations and manage sensitive situations with empathy and respect. 

Ask your outplacement consultant to help you with such training.

During the redundancy process

Focus on clear communication, two-way communication and discussion, providing clarity and choices, compass and continuously checking how people are going.

• Strategic planning:
  • Identify and assess psychosocial risks specific to the impending redundancy.
  • Plan for extended consultation timelines to allow for meaningful input and adjustment. You especially will need to give people time to consider re-deployment options which you must offer if there are any available.
• Proactive consultation:
  • Inform employees of the organisation’s position and the reasons for the change to reduce uncertainty.
  • Provide forums for affected employees to ask questions and receive clear, timely feedback.
• Compassion:
  • Deliver news with empathy, respect, and clear information about next steps.
  • Provide support services, such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) and Outplacement Services.

• Post-process support:
  • Provide outplacement services which support individuals psychologically and with their career transition. Provide written references and any specific additional information you may have about government support for your ex-employees.
  • Share information as transparently as you can with remaining employees about the reasons for the restructure and if there will be no further redundancies, to quell anxiety. Provide confidential psychological support such as EAP counselling where necessary.
  • Assess and manage the workloads of remaining employees to prevent burnout.
  • Create and maintain detailed records of the steps taken to assess and address psychosocial risks. 

The legal implications of ignoring psychosocial safety

Work health and safety (WHS) laws across Australia now treat psychological health risks with the same gravity as physical risks. Ignoring these obligations can result in serious consequences for employers including stop work orders, claims for workers compensation and reputational damage if a poorly managed redundancy results in bad press and others leaving. 

Bridget Hogg says “When I was very young, I used to think ‘anyone would have reacted that way if that happened to them’ – it wasn’t until I got much older that I realised that some people had access to tools and ways of thinking that enabled them to choose their emotional experience, manage their own thoughts and emotions – and even lead the emotional state of others. When I knew there were tools to help me manage my emotional experience in this world – I went in search of them.”

If I have to close my business and make everyone redundant – what do I need to know?

What makes a true leader at a time like this? It’s how they manage their mindset – and the mindsets of those around them who are directly impacted. Leadership starts with mindset and state – managing your own emotional state in difficult times is difficult, great leaders also lead the emotional state and mindset of those around them.

So – seek support for yourself and your people. Talk to a receiver, a lawyer and an outplacement consultant. Talk to a mental health professional or seek one through your GP. Know that it will be a difficult time so you must manage your own mental health and prioritise seeking support. Find out what free supports are available to business owners and employees so you can tell employees what supports are available to them. Provide outplacement support if you are able to. Find out if the government will support your redundant employees and how – businesses of a certain size have to liaise with the government and inform them of redundancies (your receiver or Employment Lawyer or the Fair Work Commission will be able to tell you more).

For those who are a friend of the business owner going through this situation – when this happens, be supportive. Help leaders manage their emotional experience and thoughts.

How does one manage their own emotional state?

See Tony Robbins’s Triad Model, mapped against wellbeing tools, on the Development at Work Australia website. Click here and scroll down: https://www.developmentatwork.com.au/wellness/ There are many tools that will help you manage your focus, your mindset and your physiology.